Young hairdresser who has styled celebrities including Nadia Bartel and Bec Judd SUES her high-end salon – claiming the heavy workload left her with a permanent wrist injury
- Melbourne hairdresser to the stars launches civil action against high-end salon
- Keely Alister, 24, has sued the UVA Salon for ignoring her crippling wrist injury
- She has endured three surgeries since March 2018 and is still unable to work
- Stylist says she is disappointed by how her ex- employer handled her injury
A young hairdresser has sued her high-end salon claiming they repeatedly ignored her complaints of a debilitating wrist injury.
Keely Alister, 24, has taken legal action against the UVA Salon in Prahran, in inner-city Melbourne, for pain and suffering she claims to have sustained while at work.
Ms Alister says the constant cutting, colouring and styling she performed during her time at the in-demand salon has left her with chronic pain in her right wrist.
Keely Alister, 24, (pictured) has sued UVA salon claiming they repeatedly ignored her complaints of a debilitating wrist injury
Celebrity hair stylist and founder of the UVA salon Marie Uva hired Ms Alister as an apprentice in 2013, after the 24-year-old moved to Melbourne to pursue her dream.
‘I had dreams of a successful hairdressing career and chose a salon that I felt would nurture my ambition,’ Ms Alister told the Herald Sun.
The award-winning salon has a bountiful list of celebrity clients, including the likes of Carrie Bickmore, Kate Waterhouse and Samantha Harris.
Ms Alister was named Face of the Academy the following year and contributed to the business being named Australian Salon of the Year in 2018.
She styled the hair of celebrities including Bec Judd and Nadia Bartel.
The award-winning salon has a bountiful list of celebrity clients, including the likes of social media stars Bec Judd (left) and Nadia Bartel (right)
However, the constant pain in her wrist has forced the hairdresser to undergo three surgeries since March 2018, on top of other medical procedures.
In a statement of claim the stylist states she has endured de Quervain tenosynovitis, a right ganglion cyst, neuropathic wrist pain and scarring.
Ms Alister says she has also suffered depression and anxiety as a result of her wrist pain and has been unable to return to work since November 2019.
‘This wrist injury has been devastating to me’, the stylist said.
Ms Alister (second right) joined the in-demand salon in 2013 as an apprentice and was named Face of the Academy the following year
‘I was willing to work hard for the career success that I wanted but I have been most disappointed with how my work injury has been handled by my employer’.
In court documents obtained by the Herald Sun, the hairdresser to the stars claims she wasn’t given adequate breaks, the salon was understaffed and failed to respond to her complaints.
Ms Alister believes the working conditions at the highly-regarded salon contributed to her workplace injury, despite being given restricted duties between surgeries.
The 24-year-old is being assisted by Shine Lawyers Dandenong to pursue legal action against UVA salon.
Victorian General Manager Emma Hines, who believes the stylist’s injury was avoidable, said it was unacceptable to dismiss injury ‘as part of the job’.
The award-winning UVA Salon in Pahran Melbourne (pictured) boasts a roll-call of local and international celebrity clientele
‘Every employer has a duty of care and is legally obliged to provide a safe and healthy workplace for its employees to carry out their duties,’ Ms Hines said in a statement to Daily Mail Australia.
‘Medical evidence indicates that she is suffering an avoidable chronic work overuse injury that will limit her ability to engage in any activities that require the repeated use of her hands for the foreseeable future.’
Ms Alister said she expected her ex-employee to appropriately acknowledge her pain and support her recovery given the ‘time and energy’ she had given the salon.
‘Sadly that did not turn out to be the case,’ she said.
UVA Salon have said they have not yet received the court documents, ‘but expect that if the writ is served, the matter will be defended’.